The Silversmith Palladium interconnects and
loudspeaker cables are the nuance champs of the world! They yield total openness
without aberrations of any kind, at any frequency. They are gorgeous to behold
and flexible as butter. They are made to order, with limited availability. At
$4000 per meter (about $1400 per foot), they are the most expensive cables I've
ever heard. I've also never heard better definition. Though not perfect, they
offer truly groundbreaking performance.

They are so expensive because palladium costs
hundreds of dollars an ounce. Also, they are made of a palladium alloy, and the
additional elements are even more expensive than the palladium! There has been a
price-point ceiling in my previous cable recommendations. My favorite
under-$1000 cables are Kimber Select (and KCTG) and Soundstring Pro, which offer
excellent definition and truthfulness for the money. My favorite under-$3000
cable is Harmonic Technology's CyberLight, which at $1400 per meter-and-a-half
are nearly unbeatable in most systems. They are also cutting-edge cool, as they
are fiber optic cables that do not contain any metal. In the over-$3000 world of
the best of the best, the Nordost Valhallas ($3300 per meter) are now joined by
the Silversmith Palladium cables.

Jeffrey Smith of
Silversmith developed the Palladium cables in an attempt to find a formulation
that would beat his own $1400-per-meter silver cables, which are very good. I'd
place them right up there with other cables selling for more than $2000, but
there is nothing like the sound of the Palladiums. Terminated in the most
advanced RCA plugs around and covered in an iridescent gold and silver material,
they certainly look the part. If you are a fanatic audiophile with very deep
pockets, these should be on your short list.

Let's start with the interconnects, which sound
open, open, open, and fast, fast, fast. Add to that an honesty and a musical
verisimilitude that go beyond adjectives like "sweetness" or "liquidity." Music
sounds like real music, minus some dynamic power. More about this later. The
best part is that the Palladium interconnects exhibit none of the brightness,
dryness, or richness that mar some other designs in this price range. The
Palladium cables make your system sound better by improving the electrical
relationships between the various pieces of equipment. With electrical "memory"
and slowness reduced by the unique composition of the Palladium cables, music is
simply more musical. The effect occurs at all frequencies—the bass is as finely
defined as the mids, which are as stunning as the highs, and the highs are truly
amazing. Everything is so airy that the instruments breathe. Depth is
incredible, imaging spot on. In my SET system, the lifelike reproduction and
delicacy was startling. In my push-pull tube primary system, the Avalons
produced purer, more detailed music than ever before, combined with the least
grain I've yet heard from a metal cable.

I have been unable to identify any reportable
colorations. Sometimes colorations are more apparent when you leave the music on
and exit the room, but when I did this it sounded like there was an orchestra
playing around the corner! This was really eerie, I assure you. With cables at
this price point, there should be no edginess, thickness, or anything to mar the
music. The Palladium cables have no such sins. All of this neutrality is
combined with definition equal to or better than that of any cables yet offered.

Do the Palladium cables have any flaws? The bass and
lower midrange lack slam compared to my reference cables. This is not a
coloration so much as a performance characteristic. I've heard other cables that
have the slam, but lack the Palladiums' fine texture and nuance. It may be
possible to compensate for their lighter dynamics by turning up your subwoofer
or changing power cords. Every one of the four systems in which I tried these
cables had remarkable musical detail but reduced dynamics. The JM Labs Mezzo
Utopias, which are prone to warmish, thick bass, sounded tight with the
Palladium cables. There was less slam, but the sweet detailing was so beguiling
that I can't say I really missed it. At this price point, though, I would like
to have it all!

Other quibbles? The Eichmann Bullet Plugs are the
set-and-forget kind. If you plug and unplug them frequently, they will crack and
break. I broke one in testing. The speaker cables are terminated in palladium
ribbon with a cutout like a spade lug. I shredded them in no time. This is not a
good way to terminate speaker cables unless you install them then never touch
them. The balanced interconnects are terminated in gorgeous plugs that you could
stand on without doing damage. For this kind of money, the other cables should
be terminated equally well.

The single-ended and balanced interconnects sound
identical. If you own only one pair, use it with your most utilized component.
As you add links, the sound just gets purer and purer and the dynamics improve.

Next up are the Palladium speaker cables. The speaker cables are even more neutral, if that's possible, and bring a bit
more punch. They don't seem to sweeten the sound like the interconnects, though
they heighten the purity of the musical gestalt. If you just use the Palladium
speaker cables, they transmit the flaws of your other cables. The interconnects
made the sound more analog-like and more detailed in every reference system in
which I tried them. The interconnects combine well with other top brands, and
are fantastic when used exclusively. I would not hesitate to use the
interconnects without the speaker cables, but would not use the speaker cables
on their own without auditioning.

When used throughout a system, the Palladium cables
offer a musical sophistication and a level of inner definition and voice that
makes music sound like a performance rather than a recording. Other cables are
more dynamic, some have similarly low levels of grain, but these are the most
alive-sounding cables available. You just don't live with the Palladiums—you
savor them. Are they the best in the world? At this price, they should be
perfect enough for you to take the plunge. I missed their finely textured
definition and musical realism when I took them out of my system. I have never
heard nuance and clarity quite like this. If you have a way to adjust for
dynamic oomph, or have speakers or electronics that are on the fulsome side,
these might be perfection.

Price versus performance is not a judgment I can
make for you without knowing your system goals. You should try the Palladium
cables before you buy. That said, I tried them in several reference systems,
with all kinds of amplification, and they yielded groundbreaking definition and
nuance in all instances. Colorations were nonexistent. Musicality was marvelous.
The only flaw was a lack of dynamic slam, for which you may be able to
compensate. The Palladium interconnects sounded wonderful with other speaker
cables, but the Palladium speaker cables did best with the Palladium
interconnects. They are very, very expensive and very, very excellent. They are
not perfect, but they are perfectly seductive. Ferraris and Lamborghinis aren't
perfect either, but no one would argue that they aren't as good as you can get.
The Silversmith Palladium interconnects and speaker cables are that good, too.
Robert H. Levi